Diverging Timelines: The Five Stages of Grief
by Space-Time-Leapers
Summary: The first story in a massive Doctor Who/Torchwood/Quantum Leap crossover. This story: The Doctor has just regenerated into his ninth incarnation. What is going through his mind as he copes with the fact that not only is he the Last of the Time Lords but he's the reason for the fact? Can be read as a stand-alone.
1. Chapter 1

_This is a collaborative effort between Julianna Calavicci (on both whofic and ) and asearcher. It is a prequel to an upcoming crossover that the authors humbly offer as a labor of fandom love. Hope you enjoy and please review! We like reviews! Almost as much as we like bananas!_

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**Diverging Timelines: The Five Stages of Grief**

**Chapter 1**

_Somewhere, Sometime_

Sparks of electricity came up intermittently from around him as the Doctor lay on the floor of his TARDIS, his Edwardian garb in tatters on his thin yet muscular frame. He coughed as he took a breath, his respiratory bypass system having worked overtime just to keep him from suffocating. Slowly, as if just the thought of moving was painful, he crawled into a seated position and looked at his surroundings while trying to figure out exactly what had happened.

The TARDIS was in shambles. The "desktop theme" he had preferred since sometime late in his seventh life, an odd mixture of a Victorian sitting room and a Gothic cathedral, was now flickering in and out of the white default that was inherent in all TARDISes. The console itself was buried under the arches that once housed it.

The despair on the Doctor's face was evident as he carefully got to his feet and stumbled to the mangled console. He could feel the TARDIS struggling and knew in his hearts that she was doing so only to keep him alive. He roughly pushed the arches off of the console and perused the damage. It wasn't as bad as he feared but the TARDIS was going to need some serious R&R and some tender loving care before she could be back in form. She would need replacement parts but the Doctor knew that he could easily acquire everything he needed from the shipyards…

He froze at the thought. The shipyards. On Gallifrey. He hurried around the console and literally punched a button – just to get it to work properly – bringing the viewing hologram up. He wished he hadn't turned it on as what he saw brought everything back. The Last Great Battle of the Time War. It had already been given the nomenclature before the battle had even begun. The battle had come to an impasse. Either the Time Lords would destroy the universe, effectively destroying the Daleks and staying alive themselves or the Daleks would destroy the universe with roughly the opposite result. Only the Doctor had the universe's health in primary focus. When it became obvious that the Time Lords would do literally anything to win the war, he was forced to make the final decision, the decision which destroyed everything, Dalek and Time Lord alike. However, the universe survived.

He leaned against the console, feeling the weight of what he had done bearing down on him, wishing that the emotion was more physical and would literally crush him. Why was he still alive when the rest of his people were dead? He had fully intended to die in that last destructive act and yet here he was, standing in a wrecked TARDIS. He mentally searched for another Time Lord mind, hoping that what he was feeling was a lie. The silence that he got in return was overbearing, causing him to collapse to his knees.

"Why?" he questioned aloud. He blinked at the sound of his voice. It was far different than any he had had before. The closest he could compare it to was the accent of someone from the northern part of England, his favorite country on his favorite planet. Raising his hand, he noted that the appendage, once smooth like that of a gentleman, was now rough as if he had worked with his hands the last twenty years. "I regenerated," he commented. "Damn it, I regenerated!" He punched the side of the console with fury before slumping to sit on the floor again. "You did this, didn't you?" he accused his timeship. "You knew I wanted to die with my people. Why did you do this to me?"

There was no answer from the ancient vessel, making the Doctor feel all that more alone in the universe. The Gallifreyan swallowed tightly. He couldn't exist like this, the last of his kind because of his own actions. What did the humans call it? Survivor's guilt. Well, he certainly deserved the guilt, in his opinion. He was guilty of genocide, twice over. The only thing he felt that he could do was finish the job.

Slowly standing again, he sniffed back his emotions and tried to make sense of the damaged console. There were still enough left of the timeship's controls to set a course. But, where to go to end this torment? He set the controls without even thinking about it, sending the ship into time and space. As he did so, he realized that he was shivering from lack of proper clothing. Without even being aware of his actions, he carefully made his way into the back rooms of the ship, somehow finding the wardrobe amongst the wrecked corridors. He quickly picked out a set of clothes that seemed to fit his new personality – black jeans, a long-sleeved jumper, and a beaten leather jacket – before making his way back to the console room.

The TARDIS was in the process of repairing herself, as was evident in that more of the default white was starting to make itself known. The Doctor just shook his head as he passed through to the main doors. He really couldn't understand why she was even bothering when they would both be long gone from the universe soon.

A hard, jarring shake indicated that they had rematerialized somewhere. The Doctor didn't bother even trying to check the readings to see where they had landed, going towards the doors.

"Goodbye, old girl," he said to the timeship, his blue eyes gazing sadly on his oldest living friend. "See you on the other side. If there is another side." The TARDIS' protests filled his mind as he stepped out of the ship, believing that it would be for the last time.

He hadn't expected the island paradise that he saw before him. Still, if he had to pick a way to die, being surrounded by beauty wasn't a bad position to be in. But the golden sands and blue waters did nothing to ease the guilt he felt in his hearts. He certainly hadn't expected to be helping the natives on the island to escape the fury of Krakatowa. The Doctor himself had barely escaped the deadly eruption, though why he didn't just stay and let the volcano bury him and his TARDIS under molten rock and ash he didn't fully understand, only that it was likely habit. He'd really have to get better at ignoring his instinctive impulses to live. Neither did he know that his presence there had been immortalized in a charcoal drawing by one of the natives.

This time, as the timeship traveled through the Vortex, the Doctor had no control of his destination, the TARDIS having taken off the moment the Time Lord slammed the door shut against the upcoming havoc. Another jarring landing left the Doctor's teeth aching as he looked at the time rotor.

"Where are we?" he questioned. Getting only a wave of sadness from his ship, he forced himself away from the console, this time determined to follow through with his intentions.

He found himself on a grass covered hill, the sound of cheering catching his attention. Following the sound, he saw the large crowd of humans, all of them looking in one direction. Well, at the very least, he knew he had landed on Earth. And judging from the wardrobe the humans were wearing, it was either the early 1960s or late in the forty-seventh century during the Great Revival. Regardless of the year, his curiosity of what they were watching was eating at him. Surely, it wouldn't hurt to take a peek before planning his own death.

Carefully pushing his way through the crowd, he froze at what he beheld. In an instant, he knew exactly where and when he was. November 22, 1963. Dallas, Texas, United States. In only a few more seconds, he knew shots would be heard coming from the Texas School Book Depository and the President of the United States, one John Fitzgerald Kennedy, would die. He could taste eddies of time growing stronger as the event came closer. A single fixed point in time.

As the President's motorcade passed his location, he turned his head, sensing an oddity. At that moment, someone on the other side of the road snapped his picture. Not Kennedy's, not Jackie's. _His _picture. He frowned at the oddity, wondering who would take interest in him. After all, he hadn't been to Earth in this incarnation before. He wasn't even sure that the interest was in him particularly. All he knew was that there was something wrong here that had nothing to do with President Kennedy's assassination, which was happening right at that moment. Shaking the odd sensation away, he turned from the scene. As he walked away, he felt a different sensation as if an eddy in time... something not quite fixed had changed course. It gave him pause but he figured that it was just a result of the energies surrounding the death of this man. He turned and considered the car that now sped off away from the grassy knoll as the people around him screamed in shock and terror from the event.

Across the street, a man from the 51st century, far older than his appearance, walked away from the scene of chaos in much the same way the Doctor did. He shook the Polaroid film, encouraging it to develop quickly, despite knowing that shaking the picture didn't do anything to make the development go any faster. He looked at the picture and then sighed in frustration. It was the Doctor, all right, but it was the wrong time. He could tell by the look in the Time Lord's eyes. They screamed self-hatred. What was more – he wasn't sure how he knew – Jack Harkness could tell that this Doctor hadn't yet met him. For one, it was obvious that he could sense his presence but didn't understand what he was feeling. Sighing, he dropped the photo on the ground and went on with the assignment Torchwood had given him, knowing that it was better than spending his immortal life in a prison cell.

As the Doctor walked from the scene, he wondered why the TARDIS had materialized in one of the Earth's darkest moments. One thing was certain; it certainly helped to deepen his already black mood. All he needed now was someplace quiet to end his existence. No doubt UNIT would take on the case once they found out that the Dallas police had an alien body in their morgue. It would only be a short time later that they would find the TARDIS…

He stopped in his walk when he remembered that UNIT didn't exist in 1963. It wouldn't exist for another five or six years, in fact. What would become of his body? Of the TARDIS? He certainly didn't want to become a curiosity, dissected as the scientists in charge tried to find out what he was. He wanted a proper burial – even if it wasn't Gallifreyan – something he knew the Brigadier would provide. Well, that wasn't going to happen in 1963, especially since Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart was still Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart at this time and they hadn't even met yet.

"Bloody hell," he grumbled. "Can't even commit suicide properly."

Even as he made the comment, he heard a quiet sob coming from the bushes he was marching past. The sound was so soft that, if the Doctor hadn't been right beside the hedge, he wouldn't have heard it, especially with the noise of confusion and panic coming from the other side of the grassy knoll. Stopping, he followed the sound to its source, lowering himself a few feet away.

"Hello?" he called out gently. Hearing a sudden rustle, he hurried forward verbally. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. Come on out where I can see you. I only want to help. Promise."

Slowly, a small female child came out of the hedge, obviously lost and frightened. Everything about the girl told the Time Lord that she was completely out of place. Her clothes, her hair, and her shoes weren't the height of fashion for the early 1960s, especially for a human girl her age, which the Doctor guessed to be about twelve or thirteen years old.

"You seem a bit lost." He didn't move from his crouched position.

The girl sniffed, wiping away some tears as she looked around furtively. Her lyrical speech pattern, indicative of a resident of Ireland, came through loud and clear. "I can't find my mummy and daddy. We were going to the ship but I stopped to watch the sailors and then there was a bright light and they were gone!" She sniffed again, her voice growing more agitated as she spoke. "And this place is so scary! Everyone dresses so strange and there's so much noise!"

The Doctor looked at the girl with concern. The bright light description reminded him of some sort of teleport. As for the ship and the girl's obviously out-of-time clothing… well, the Gallifreyan needed far more information than the girl had given him.

"It's okay," he assured. "We'll find your mummy and daddy together." He extended his hand to her. "I'm the Doctor. What's your name?"

"Eveleen," she answered softly. "Eveleen Daniels." She tentatively accepted the Doctor's hand, allowing him to shake it before he slowly stood up.

"Nice to meet you, Eveleen. Now… what ship were you going to before you got lost?"

Her forehead creased. "It was a Titan something. I can't remember."

The Doctor's brow furrowed at her words. "How about we try a different tactic? Do you remember what date the ship sails?"

She smiled. "Of course, I do. Today."

He smiled patiently. "And that is?"

"The tenth of April."

"What year?" the Time Lord pressed gently.

"1912, of course. Are you daft?"

He froze at her words, his eyes darkening slightly while he ignored her implied insult. "You weren't in the city of Southampton, were you?" he questioned, the knot in his stomach growing.

"Why, of course we were. You wouldn't expect the ship to sail from Devon, now would you? Mum and Dad said we had to go to the docks to get on the ship. It's going to be a grand adventure, you know."

"Going to the United States," he muttered, knowing now exactly what ship she had been going to board.

"Aye. That's where my Uncle Sean went. He's been there for five years now and we're going to go live with him."

"Terrific," he grumbled, though his tone indicated that he didn't think it was in the least bit. "RMS Titanic. Wouldn't you know it? Now I'll have to avoid myself." He turned towards the girl, who was looking at him as if he had just grown a second head. "No problem. We'll get you back with your mum and dad straight off."

"Oh, thank you, sir. I'd greatly appreciate it."

He offered his hand. "Come along, then," he instructed. With the girl accepting, he escorted her to the TARDIS and unlocked the door. "After you, Eveleen Daniels," he instructed. "Don't touch anything."

She looked up at him as she walked in. "Why are we going into a..." Once inside her eyes widened and she turned to walk out again.

"What's wrong?" the Gallifreyan questioned. Seeing the shocked look on her face, he nodded. "Okay, so it's bigger on the inside." He peered inside the vehicle. "And a bit rubbish looking but that's only because she's been through a lot lately. She's repairing herself but... well, you've got to give her a chance, don't you?"

"Her?" the girl asked.

"She's a ship. You call ships by a feminine gender, don't you? Besides, I think she likes being female. She certainly acts it sometimes. Stubborn." He stepped into the timeship and gestured Eveleen to enter as well. "Come on. Got to get you to your parents. You certainly don't belong here."

She once more looked into the strange room. Gazing up at the man and feeling by the sixth sense her mum always claimed she had that she could trust him, she walked into his so called ship.

The Doctor quickly closed the door and moved to the console, grimacing at the damage there. "Mind you, she really does need repairs done," he muttered to himself. "Might be a bit of a bumpy ride..." He froze at a thought. "The Eye of Harmony... it's gone. She can't travel through time without energy from the Eye. I'm going to need to find an alternate energy source and soon." He didn't even realize how his mindset had shifted automatically towards what was part of his nature, namely caring for all living creatures. All he knew was he couldn't leave this girl outside of her time and, if at all possible, he needed to make sure she was safe.

As he started pulling on different equipment, she stated, "I just don't see how a blue shed can be a ship."

"It's a police box actually..." he started. Seeing the confusion on her face - and remembering that police boxes weren't even around in 1912 - he rephrased his next words. "She just looks like a shed. In actuality, she's a highly-sophisticated state-of-the-art... well, state-of-the-art when she was originally commissioned... Type 40 TT capsule, capable of traveling to any time and any place in the universe. As long as she has power, that is." He moved around the console before dipping down to scrounge underneath it. "I'm thinking next configuration... grated floor so that I can see into your workings better," he told the ship.

"So... this box is sort of like the Titan... aahhh... ship."

"Titanic," he corrected her. "Remember that name, Eveleen. One day, you'll be telling your grandchildren about that ship." He pulled himself up from under the TARDIS console and flicked a switch, causing the interior to become completely white, roundels gracing the walls. "There. At least it won't give me a headache looking at you. Looks like there's enough power for a couple of trips. After that, I may have to adapt something, scoop up time vortex particles or something. Or revert to huon particles. Dangerous but at least it will give us power. Now, just have to set the coordinates..." he commented mostly to himself. "You might want to hang onto something."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

As the TARDIS moved through the vortex, Eveleen's eyes grew wide although it wasn't clear if it was the movement or the loud sound of the rotor grinding that was the most distressing. "Are you sure this is safe?"

"Safe? Probably not, not with her unable to get power from the Eye of Harmony. She has some residual energy in her buffers, enough to get us to Southampton, England, on April 10, 1912. Far better place for you than Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963."

Eveleen felt the room tilt and shudder. She certainly didn't hear what the man said about dates. She was too terrified to think of anything other than her worries that there might be an explosion. A few minutes later, they stopped suddenly causing her to roll head over heels with a squeal.

The Doctor hurried to her side and helped her to her feet. "You all right?"

"I... I... think so." She looked down at her dress. "Oh, no! Mummy's going to be so angry with me. She says a proper lady needs to keep her dress clean and now..." She pointed out her frock, which now had black smudges. Tears started to pool in her eyes. "I'll never be a proper lady!"

"Nonsense! Everyone takes a tumble now and again. Can't help getting a bit dirty when that happens," the Gallifreyan assured her. His words didn't seem to comfort her in the least, the Doctor noticed, as her tears escaped her eyes. "Now, none of that," he gently berated her. "Ladies certainly don't cry over a bit of dirt on their frocks." Again, his words seemed to only make the situation worse. "Tell you what. You can have one of the dresses in my wardrobe."

She looked up at him, her head tilting but her tears slowing. "Why would you have dresses in your wardrobe?" she asked sniffling.

He tucked his hands into his jeans. "Used to have traveling companions. Lot of them were human females so I just kept a good collection of feminine clothing for them. I know I have something that would fit you for your time period."

She blinked a few times and then pulled a dainty handkerchief out of her pocket to dab her eyes and address the personal mess her nose was causing. "A new dress? Really?"

"Why not? It's not like I'm going to be wearing any of them in the future or the past."

She giggled. "No. You'd look silly in a dress."

He walked towards a white door, gesturing for Eveleen to follow. "What makes you say that?"

"Well... you're a man! Men don't wear dresses!"

"Not on Earth they don't," he agreed as he led the girl through the many passages of the TARDIS. He stopped in front of a plain white door and opened it, peeking in. "Here we go. Wardrobe. Mind you, it's a bit disorganized at the moment." Stepping in, he started searching through the closest rack to the door. "I know there's an Edwardian dress here your size. Victoria was very fond of it."

"Is that the name of your daughter?"

The Doctor froze at her words, his face suddenly becoming somber. His blue eyes shined with painful emotion as he took several slow, silent breaths. "No," he finally answered. "She was a friend, that's all. Used to travel with me." He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "A long time ago."

"Doctor?" she asked, concerned at his reaction. "Are you all right?"

He turned towards the girl, his eyes still somber before forcing a smile on his face. "You want a new dress to impress your mum or not?"

"Oh, yes, please."

"Right, then," He shuffled through the racks before pulling out an elegant dress trimmed with lace. "Try that on."

"Oh!" Eveleen cried. "It's so beautiful. And the lace! It's so fine. Like the lace the sisters at the convent make and sell!"

He grinned at her words. "Well... go on. Put it on. There's a changing room right over there." He pointed to the far end of the room where a mahogany door stood slightly ajar.

When she came out about fifteen minutes later, she was grinning from ear to ear. "Oh, Doctor! You were right. It's almost a perfect fit." The top wasn't quite filled out but, then again, Eveleen was just starting her journey into womanhood.

"Bit long but I'm sure you'll grow into it. Feeling better for the change of clothes?"

"Oh, yes. I feel quite the lady."

"You look quite the lady." He gestured towards the door. "Off we go then." When she didn't seem to move from her spot, he frowned slightly. "What is it?"

"Aren't you going to change?" she asked.

"What's wrong with my attire?"

"I'm sure what you have on was quite right for when we met, but now..."

He blinked for a moment, looking down at himself. "Don't see anything wrong with this."

"It's not... proper."

"I've already had my fill of Edwardian clothing," he commented.

"Well. I'm certainly not going to introduce you to my parents if you continue to wear _that_. You look like a dock worker."

"Well, I suppose I've been called worse." Seeing the look on her face, he sighed. "Fine. I'll change. But only because I need to speak with your parents. There's something very odd going on in this time. How did you wind up fifty-one years into your future, for one?" He rifled through the wardrobe quickly, picking out clothing he knew would be appropriate and would fit his thin frame. Going into the changing room quickly, he came out again only a moment later. "Better?"

"Oh, much." She smiled. "You look rather dashing."

"I feel like my neck is being swallowed up by this collar," he complained. "Just this once. Never again." He gestured towards the door once again. "After you, Miss Daniels."

She pulled her skirt lightly as if imitating her mother and walked out of the TARDIS. They found themselves on the dock. There was a throng of people and the ship that would never complete its maiden voyage was docked not far away.

"Busy place," the Doctor commented unnecessarily.

"Yeah. It was like this right before I... I... fell," she said.

"So... where's your mum and dad?" he questioned, looking at the crowd as if he himself could identify Eveleen's parents.

She looked around and then smiled, pointing out her family. "There they are. My Mum and Dad and the rest." She started to wave to them.

The Doctor stopped her actions. "Best not yet," he warned her. "They're going to have enough questions as it is without you being seen with a strange man. We'll just go up to them first so that I can reassure them of my honorable intentions before they send a constable after me."

Eveleen told him about her family as they made their way to them. "My mother is Claire and my father is Kevin. Those three are my two little sisters and my brother. Kate, Patrick, and Shannon is the baby." She sounded rather self important as she finished. "I'm the eldest."

"Only one boy in the family. Your poor father."

"My mother says he's blessed. Three girls to make his tea and press his clothes."

"Maybe. But all that estrogen running around the house." He shook his head slightly. "Well... I suppose we'd better face the music." Taking a deep breath, he walked beside Eveleen as they made their way to the family.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Eveleen, dressed in her lady's finery, held her head up as she sauntered over to her parents. Her mother took one look at her and said rather sharply. "Eveleen! What on earth are you wearing?!"

"Who might you be, sir?" said Mr. Daniels, puffing himself out as if to protect his family.

"Ah, you are evidently Mr. Daniels," the Time Lord confirmed with a smile. "I'm the Doctor." He extended his hand towards him.

"Oh, Mummy and Daddy, the Doctor is wonderful. He has the most wonderful ship. He gave me this dress when my other one was soiled."

"I see," said Mr. Daniels. "My daughter is only thirteen. How dare you..." he started.

Mrs. Daniels pulled Eveleen to her. "What did he do on that ship to soil your dress?"

"Mummy. I was just rolling on the floor!" she protested.

The Doctor cringed at her choice of words. "That really helps, Eveleen. Thanks. Now, listen. It wasn't like that. Blimey! Assume the worst, will you? She was lost and scared and dirty and I just cleaned her up and helped her find her parents. That was all!"

"Well, what are we to expect, seeing her dressed like this?" Mr. Daniels said.

Mrs. Daniels was still not sure. She just glared at the Doctor.

"That your little girl is growing up," the Doctor told him. "She needed a change of clothes. I had a dress that used to belong to a friend of mine so I gave it to her." He gave the mother a glare. "And before you get the thought in your head, no, I wasn't in the same room when she changed."

"Good," she said. "I'm glad now that they haven't taken our luggage. We'll be able to get her into something more fitting her age." She went to a large trunk. "It's a good thing you weren't wearing your coat or we'd have lost that as well."

The Doctor rolled his eyes at Claire's words. "I see what you mean," he grumbled towards Eveleen. "You planning on having her change her clothes now, out in the open?"

"Of course not, _Sir_!" She said the last with a questioning voice. "We will use the ladies pavilion over there." She pointed to a small building.

"Ah. Yes. Of course. Silly me," the Doctor commented, clearly embarrassed by his blunder. "So you should." He paused. "By the way, either of you seen a bright flash of white anywhere?"

"What?" Kevin Daniels asked. "Whatever are you talking about, man?"

"Obviously not," the Doctor noted. He looked around the area again, searching for anything out of the ordinary. There was something definitely wrong but he couldn't figure out exactly what or where. "I know this is going to sound strange but I met your daughter in the year 1963 and brought her back here. She'd somehow had fallen through a crack in time. I'm pretty sure the crack originated in 1963. Fractures in time are bound to happen now and again. But this one was expanded by someone or something here. Eveleen told me she saw a bright light before she ended up in 1963. So obviously, by process of elimination, whatever caused the fracture to expand produces a bright light."

Mr. Daniels narrowed his eyes. "Are you mad?"

The Doctor frowned at the question. "You know, Kevin... I'm not entirely sure. Could be." He grinned at him before becoming serious. "But I'm not concerning this. Has anything odd happened in the last half an hour? I mean, other than me showing up."

"Well... there was a rather loud clicking noise for a bit. About the time Eveleen walked off."

"Where did it come from?"

"Strange, that. Seemed to be coming from the ship itself."

"From the Titanic?" The incredulity was plainly obvious in the question.

"Yes. Quite."

The Doctor seemed to search himself for a moment before sighing in frustration. "What I wouldn't give for a sonic screwdriver or a scanner right now," he grumbled. "Guess I'll just have to do this the old fashioned way." He took a step towards the ship.

"Where are you going?" Kevin asked him. He couldn't leave as the three younger children had been left with him while his wife took Eveleen to change.

"Going to find your clicking sound, maybe solve the riddle of how your daughter wound up outside my ship's door," he told the father. He stopped, turning around to look at him. "By the way, take my advice. Go on the next ship out to the United States. Not this one."

"You are mad! We have second class tickets on this ship. The Titanic is the finest ship that's has ever been built. It's unsinkable."

"So was Atlantis and that went into the ocean right quick. I should know. I was there."

"I've never heard of the Atlantis."

"I meant the city."

"You need to be locked up!" the man said, pulling his children closer to him.

The Gallifreyan sighed at the fear that seeped from the man and the children. "Look, I'm sorry I frightened you. I swear I won't hurt you. But I happen to know things about this ship that they won't tell you in the brochures. Like weak bolts."

The Edwardian man huffed. "Why would they use shoddy bolts on such a ship? It makes no sense."

"Neither does a man giving a strange girl - not that your daughter is strange - a dress simply out of the goodness of his hearts but it does happen," the Doctor said. "Bumblebees don't make sense either. I mean, two little wings carrying all that body mass but they still fly."

The other man spoke slowly as if to help the madman understand. "The ship's been built to be unsinkable. The bolts may not be that great a problem."

The Doctor decided to ignore the man's condescending tone. "All right then. How about the number of lifeboats? Sure, it fits regulations for a ship this size by tonnage but not for its capacity. This ship can hold over thirty-five hundred people. How many people do you think those lifeboats can hold?"

"I'm sure they have enough for everyone."

"16 lifeboats. Each with a capacity of 65 people. Plus four collapsibles. If they were all filled to capacity, only about twelve hundred people would be able to get off the boat safely. Twelve hundred out of thirty-five hundred."

"No! They wouldn't do that with women and children on the ship!"

"Why not? Completely legal. They have all the lifeboats they are required to have for a ship Titanic's size. Besides, she's unsinkable, remember?"

"But... but..." Kevin Daniels looked at his three small children and then back to where his wife had taken his oldest daughter. "There are some that say calling it that is tempting fate or spitting in the eyes of God."

"Well, I wouldn't say that," the Doctor told him with a shrug. "That's just a superstition. I base my judgment on facts. And it is a fact that the bolts are not the best in the world and that there really aren't enough lifeboats for the ship's capacity."

Kevin looked most disturbed by the Doctor's statement. "Oh, my word. I'm not sure this voyage is the one we should take."

The Doctor hid his smile, glad that he at least saved one family from one of the greatest maritime disasters in Earth history. "If I were a gambling man, I wouldn't put odds on things working out for the best if anything went wrong with the Titanic. After all, it could hit something on the way to America. And with shoddy bolts, who knows how well the hull will hold." He paused. "You want my advice? I'd trade your tickets in for another ship. Go to the United States. You'll love it. It's fantastic. Just not on the Titanic."

"Claire won't be happy. She said it was a social coup to go on this ship." Looking at the Doctor, he stood taller. "But then again, I am the man of the house. It's my responsibility to keep my family safe."

"Absolutely! Couldn't agree with you more. Family..." He stopped for a moment, as if the word itself was painful to say. He was grateful when a grating feminine voice broke in, allowing him an excuse not to finish his words.

"Kevin! We mustn't be dawdling. Get a porter to take our luggage and let's get on the ship."

"We are not boarding," Kevin told her bluntly, standing tall with confidence.

"What? Not boarding? What's come over you?"

Eveleen spoke up. "Oh, Mummy. I told you. The Doctor says we mustn't get on the Titanic. He says something bad is going to happen to it."

"Poppycock!" Claire Daniels cried. "You're not going to listen to this man, are you, Kevin?"

"Well, he makes jolly sense," the father emphasized. "There aren't enough lifeboats on that ship to accommodate all the passengers. And I will not have my family on a ship that doesn't have enough lifeboats."

"But the ship's unsinkable!" his wife retorted.

"So was Atlantis," Kevin answered. Realizing his words matched that of the Doctor's, he rethought his reply. "I am the head of this family and I will say what ship we board and we are not boarding the Titanic! My decision is final!"

Mrs. Daniels pursed her mouth. "Yes, Kevin," she said tightly. She wasn't happy but when Kevin made up his mind she knew there could be no movement. She huffed a little as she held little Shannon's hand.

"Now," Kevin stated firmly. "We will trade these tickets for the next ship to America." He patted his waistcoat briefly.

The Doctor gave the family a genial grin. "That's the spirit, Kev!"

At that moment a photographer who was working on the docks walked up to them. "Excuse me but I was wondering... might I take your picture on this historic occasion?"

Eveleen looked over to her father. "Oh, Daddy! Can we?"

Claire Daniels shook her head. "I think not."

The photographer tried again. "But I will send you a copy for free. You and your family look so dashing."

"I think it's a fantastic idea," the Time Lord commented, giving them a smile. "Come on. Photo to say you were actually here. Believe me, in five days, you'll be looking at it in a whole new light."

The photographer had the family take their spots on some concrete steps near the pier. In the distance, there was a building going up and a ship being loaded, giving the picture a sense of a time and place. The tall man in the black suit tried to walk off but the photographer insisted he be part of the picture as well. Once the shot was taken, Mr. Daniels gave him his brother Sean's address in New York.

"Well, Doctor. What are your plans then?"

"Ah..." the Doctor started. He certainly couldn't tell them the truth, that he intended to board the Titanic himself in search of the odd clicking sound that Kevin Daniels had heard, a sound which the Doctor strongly suspected was directly related to how Eveleen had found herself in the year 1963 on a different continent. "Well, now that Eveleen is safely with her family, I thought I'd just toddle off and tend to my business ventures."

"What is it exactly you do, sir?"

"I travel through time and space in a police box," the Time Lord told him, his blue eyes bright with mischief.

"Ah. One of those writers of that fantasy stuff, wot!" Kevin ventured. "I rather fancy H.G. Wells, you know."

Eveleen tugged at her father's coat. "No, Daddy, he's telling the truth. That's how he found me in that strange place."

Claire shook her finger at her daughter. "That will be quite enough, Eveleen. It's one thing for men to write this... this... fiction. Quite another thing for a lady to do it."

"Oi, nothing wrong with a good imagination. Stimulates the brain," the Doctor berated her. He gave Eveleen a knowing smile and a wink, letting her know in that action that it was okay to keep the adventure to herself. "Like Herbert! Fantastic imagination. You know, he got all of his ideas from a brief adventure with me. Took him to the planet Karfel. Of course, he was really a stowaway so I'm not sure you could say that I took him there. More like he took himself there and then I found out about it."

"Ha ha!" the head of the Daniel's family laughed. "Yes. Nothing wrong with a good imagination." He turned to his wife. "Well, Claire,I_ imagine _we need to look into other travel arrangements. We'll have to telegraph Sean to let him know we won't be arriving on the Titanic after all."

Mrs. Daniels looked longingly at the ship once more. "You're sure?"

"Yes. I'm very sure. We'll just take another ship to America. Cheer up, though. With the premium not being as high, we'll likely be able to go first class and not 2nd."

That seemed to cheer Claire Daniels up a bit. She even turned to the Doctor. "Well, sir. I wish you well in your journeys wherever you go."

The Doctor extended his hand to her. "And you, Mrs. Daniels. Mr. Daniels." He gave a nod to Kevin and another slight wink to Eveleen before turning and walking off. He turned a corner and hid, waiting patiently until the Daniels retained a porter to handle their bags whereupon they left the dock. Immediately he hurried to board the Titanic.

"Oi! Where do you think you are going, sir?" a voice protested as he passed.

The Doctor stopped, turning towards the steward who stood guard to check tickets. "I'm just going to check something. Won't be a mo."

"No one boards without a ticket," the steward told him bluntly. "May I see yours, sir?"

The Gallifreyan blinked for a moment. "Ticket. Yes," he murmured. "Ticket." He patted himself in search of something... anything... that could allow him access to the ship. He stopped with surprise when he felt a thin, square object in his jacket pocket. Reaching in, he pulled out what appeared to be a worn leather wallet. Almost immediately, his frown turned into a bright smile. "Psychic paper! Forgot I had that!" Seeing the questioning look on the steward's face, he grew serious. "I mean, I'd forgotten where I'd put my ticket but it seems I found it in my wallet." He opened the wallet and showed the steward. "See? Ticket for one to board the Royal Mail Ship Titanic."

The steward stared at the wallet for a couple of seconds, as if questioning the veracity of what he was seeing. Looking up at the Doctor's face, he gave the Gallifreyan an embarrassed smile. "My apologies, Dr. Smith. We do get the oddest people trying to stowaway, wanting a free trip to the United States. I do hope you will forgive this unfortunate event."

"'Course," the Doctor affirmed. "Don't think on it." He patted the steward's shoulder and moved up the ramp quickly before the man could change his mind about letting him on. "I'm going to have to remember to keep this on me," he muttered to himself with a pat of the wallet. "Wonder how I got around without it in the first place." He looked around for a moment, thinking about how he was going to go about his business aboard. A glance at the people coming on was a reminder that the ship was going to leave port in a short time and, given that he wasn't sure what he was looking for, it was unlikely that he would be getting off before the Titanic set sail. That meant he needed another means off before the tragedy that would occur in a few days. Seeing another steward, this one obviously making sure that the passenger's needs were being met, he went over to him. "Who do I see about loading my box onto the ship?" he questioned, interrupting the conversation that was taking place between the steward and a passenger.

"Excuse me, sir, but I was just finishing up with Mr. Astor. You will need to wait."

"Right. Sorry." He stood back knowing that at least one if not both of the men in front of him would be dead in a matter of days and there was nothing that he could do to prevent that, especially since he'd already mucked with the timeline by warning off the Daniels.

After another minute, the steward turned his attention to him. "How may I help you, sir?"

"My blue box. I need it loaded onto the ship. It's located over there." The Doctor pointed out the TARDIS, which was still situated on the other side of the pier.

The steward gave him a strange look. "Why are you taking a blue shed to America?"

"It's not exactly a shed. It's my...invention for a new shipping container. Very hush, hush you know."

"Do you have proper clearance for it?"

The Doctor sighed, pulling out the psychic paper and showing it to him.

"Smith and Son's Shipping Company. Container approval," the man read. "Looks in order, sir."

"Yes," he responded putting the paper away. "If this proves to be as lucrative as I think it will, it should be a good business venture."

The steward gave took a breath and let it out. "If you say so, sir. I wish you well with your endeavor."

"So who do I go to?"

The steward provided the information and the Doctor thanked him. Taking care of that, he watched from the deck as the dock workers carefully loaded the time machine into one of the cargo holds. Once that was done, he started to search for the cause of the strange time hole.

As the preparations for leaving continued to take place, the Doctor began looking around the ship as the final call for boarding was announced. While passengers went to the side of the ship to wave one last time to their well-wishers still standing on the dock, the Time Lord continued his quest. As the ship pulled away from the dock, he heard a clicking sound. Almost as soon as it started, the sound ended once more. The Doctor hurried towards the source of the sound, hoping to find the reason quickly enough. Even as he did so, another ship broke loose and started to move towards the Titanic. He knew the history of the Titanic well enough to know that the City of New York had just broken from its moorings, an act that would delay the departure of the Titanic for another hour. And he was sure that it couldn't be a coincidence that this was happening at the same time as the odd clicking sound. There had to be a correlation but the question was really a matter of what that correlation was.

Reaching where he thought he had heard the sound, the Doctor found nothing to help in his search. "This is getting me nowhere," he grumbled. He noticed a faint smell that reminded him of rust. "Rust? On a brand new ship. I don't think so." Following the scent to a door that lead to a crew only room he tried the handle and found it locked. Groaning, he lamented, "Why did I lose the sonic last time I visited Earth? How stupid can I get?" His eyes widened. "I am thick! Why don't I just make another?" He decided that moment to go back the TARDIS and do just that. Finding his way to the cargo hold, he smiled at the sight of his beloved time ship before entering.

He wasn't seen for another four days.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The Titanic was four days into her journey to the United States and the Doctor had done all that he could to find the source of the clicking sound without drawing suspicion to himself and without running into his younger self, having been aboard the ship in a previous life. Even though he'd built a brand new sonic screwdriver - he still hadn't a clue what had happened to his old one, the one with the red disc on the tip - it hadn't helped to narrow down the location of the clicking except to the third-class area of the ship.

Slumping onto a chair on the Well-Deck, he rubbed his face with his hands. "Fantastic. I can't bloody well go knocking on cabin doors demanding if someone has alien technology." Leaning back, he exhaled loudly. "I guess I'll just have to wait. Again."

"Who are you?" a small voice questioned.

Turning toward the sound, the Gallifreyan quickly raised his head, immediately finding the face of a young boy. "No one of consequence," he answered the query, really not in the mood for having to deal with children after two days of searching the ship from stem to stern, all the while trying not to be too meddlesome.

"Daddy used to have a suit like that," the child voiced with a sad sigh.

"That's nice. Now why don't you run along?" the Doctor suggested.

"Mummy said I mustn't run."

"Richard!" a woman's voice called out. "Don't be bothering the gentleman."

The Time Lord looked up at a very handsome woman, raising his eyebrows in surprise. She was about twenty-three or twenty-four years of age by his estimation with long dark hair that was carefully pinned away from her face, showing off the natural glow of her skin. At the same time, she appeared to be a person who knew the harshness of life. Her clothes were practical and clean, or at least as clean as she could keep them within her limited means. A look at the boy showed the Doctor that he couldn't have been more than five years old and very much the spitting image of his mother. Again, his clothes were practical and clean. However, there was no doubt that this family didn't have the financial means to own clothes such as the Doctor was wearing at the moment.

"He's not a bother," the Doctor assured, standing from his seat. "I just haven't had the best of luck on this ship yet. I'm sure it will come soon. Good looking boy you have there."

"Thank you. I think he takes after his father, God rest his soul, but people tell me they see my features." She paused. "Best of luck? Are you a gambling man?"

"Not really. Been looking for something. Can't find it."

"Oh. I assume you must have lost it here. First class passengers usually don't come down to the Well-Deck. Perhaps we can help you find what you seek?"

"Doubt it, especially since I'm not sure what it looks like," the Doctor replied. Seeing the confusion on her face, he told her, "I'm sort of investigating a strange noise, an odd clicking sound. Hear anything like that?"

Richard tilted his head. "Does it sound sort of like..." and the child started to make a sound very similar to what the Doctor had heard.

The Doctor grinned broadly, impressed by the impersonation. "Oh, you are fantastic!" He looked to his mother. "He's absolutely fantastic! That's exactly what it sounds like."

The mother tilted her head. "Are you a detective then?"

"Sort of," came the Gallifreyan's response. He turned to Richard. "When did you hear it?"

"I heard it when we went to the public room after lunch."

"Can you show me exactly where?"

The boy nodded grinning but then stopped and looked up to his mother with a questioning look. "Can I, Mummy?"

"I don't see why not. But I'm going with you both."

"Absolutely," the Gallifreyan agreed. "Can't be too careful this day and age." He turned to the boy. "What was your name again?"

"Richard," the boy said but with a slight mispronunciation of the 'r' so it came out as more 'Wichard' than anything.

"Well, then, Master Richard..." He gestured melodramatically in the direction of the public room. "Lead the way." As they started to walk, he decided the adults should get introductions out of the way. "I'm the Doctor, by the way. And what's your name?"

"Penelope Winters," she answered. "What type of doctor are you?"

"Oh, pretty much of everything. Medicine, science, history... you name it."

"My, my. Sounds like we should call you 'professor' and not just Doctor."

"Oh, I've been called that before too. Didn't care for it much, now that I remember. Of course, with Ace, you pretty much have to take whatever she gives you. Within reason."

"Ace? What a strange name for a woman."

"Well, her real name was Dorothy Gale. But she never did enjoy her real name."

"Dorothy Gale. Where have I heard that name?" She thought for a moment. "Oh yes! That was the character in that delightful set of books by that American author. Richard loves to hear all about Oz."

"Now you see why Ace wasn't too fond of her name."

The little boy looked up. "I'd love for Mummy to see the Emerald City!"

The Doctor grinned at his words. "I imagine it would be quite a sight." He turned to Penelope. "So what sends you to the United States?"

She sighed before answering. "Since Stephen..." She paused slightly to explain, "...that was my husband. Since he died in the lorry accident, money has been tight. I saw an advertisement for a New York family that was looking for a housekeeper. They said they would take Richard as well. I felt that I needed to take the opportunity when it presented itself."

"But how can you even afford the trip? Even third class, it still costs quite a lot. And taking a job as a housekeeper in a different country when you really don't have much experience... bit risky, don't you think?"

She gave him a wary look. "What makes you think I don't have the experience?"

"Your hands. Much too soft and pretty for a housekeeper. A nanny, perhaps... or a ladies maid... but not a housekeeper. Besides, most housekeepers are a bit older than you."

She gave a bit of a smile at that. "A regular Sherlock Holmes, aren't you."

"Well, yes. I suppose that's true. Arthur often said that I gave him a few ideas."

"Oh," she responded, not at all sure if she was speaking with someone who really was friends with the great author or not. However, he had shown that he was likely a detective after all. "I borrowed the money for this trip, Doctor. I'm willing to do whatever I have to for my son. A housekeeper position is honorable work and in America, they are not so... traditional."

"Oh, you are absolutely right. Housekeepers are fantastic. Hard workers. Salt of the earth. In fact..." His bright blue eyes focused on her hazel ones. "I think you are extremely brave for making such a decision. Can't have been an easy thing to do, leaving everything you know to make sure your son has a better life." Briefly, he wondered where he would be in his life if his own mother hadn't shown the same courage, going to live on another planet far from her home world just so her son could live amongst his father's people.

As he finished speaking, they had arrived at the public room which was on the starboard side of the stern on C-Deck. There were a small number of people present, all of whom appeared interested in enjoying their surroundings. None of them seemed to notice the "first-class passenger" in their midst.

"Over here, Doctor. The clicking sound was over here." Richard guided him to the back of the room by the windows.

The Doctor left their side and went directly to the spot indicated. He turned around in a full circle, frowning. "Do you smell that?" he questioned.

Penelope looked quite embarrassed but Richard piped up. "It smells like someone farted!"

His mother's eyes opened wide. "Richard! We do not talk like that!"

Richard, looking greatly chastised, answered, "Yes, Mummy." He turned to the Doctor. "It smells like someone passed gas."

"There's something far more subtle here," the Doctor told them as he sniffed the air. "Like... metal... iron to be exact." He gave the boy a smile. "That and someone farted."

The mother shook her head. "How am I ever going to teach him to be a gentleman?"

The Doctor firmly looked at Penelope. "Gentlemen are made in here," he said pointing to where a human heart would be in him. "And with good parenting. I'm sure with you as his mother, he will learn the ins and outs just fine. Just give him time."

She grinned at him. "That sounds like what Stephen would have said. Thank you." She paused. "Is that... ummm... odor important?"

"Absolutely. It means that Master Richard here has led me to a vital clue. But what does this odd combination of scents mean?" He thought hard. "Iron... and passed gas," he said genteel-like. He sniffed the air again. "Well, more like ozone and smog, if I'm not mistaken." He looked at Richard. "Was there anything else you saw or heard... or smelled?"

Richard looked at him shyly. "You won't believe me."

"Of course, I'll believe you. I'll believe anything. Well, almost anything."

"Mummy says I was imagining it."

"And what was it that you supposedly imagined?" the Doctor pressed gently. "I promise I won't laugh."

"A sea monster," Richard said finally, his eyes wide.

"He has such a creative imagination," Penelope said quickly.

"A sea monster?" the Time Lord questioned, his eyebrows rising. "You mean like Nessie. The Loch Ness Monster."

The boy nodded. "Yes. Just like that. Mummy says that people who see Nessie just have sour stomachs."

"Or have Zygons nearby," the Doctor added to the assertion.

"What on earth is a Zygon?" Penelope asked.

The Gallifreyan's eyes grew somber. "An alien. A shape-borrowing alien from the planet Zygor. The sea monster Richard saw was very likely a Skarasen. It's a cyborg creature from their home planet with which they have a symbiotic relationship. Zygons need the lactic fluid of a Skarasen to survive."

"From the planet Zygor? You're saying the thing that caused the clicking sound that Richard heard was extraterrestrial?" She shook her head. "That's impossible."

"You don't believe there are planets other than the Earth?" the Doctor questioned.

"Of course I know there are other planets. I just mean it's impossible for there to be extraterrestrial life."

"Says who?" the Time Lord questioned. "What if I told you that I was an extraterrestrial?"

"Then I'd think that was a poor joke indeed."

Richard smiled. "Are you?"

"You could come over and find out for yourself," the Time Lord told the boy. "See... I have two hearts."

The child ran over before his mother could stop him. He put his head against the Doctor's chest. "Mummy. He does. He has two hearts!"

The Doctor looked at Penelope with serious eyes, noting her shaking her head. "So you really believe that the Earth is the only planet that has life in the universe, even though there are literally billions and billions of planets out there."

She blinked. "The Bible doesn't talk about extraterrestrials," she answered but in her voice there was doubt.

"Neither does it say that Earth is the only planet in the universe that has life on it," the Doctor pointed out.

"Well, I guess that's true. I never thought of it like that."

"Mummy," Richard chimed in. "I told you, he's telling the truth. Come listen."

Shaking her head, she declined. "It wouldn't be proper."

The Doctor gave her a grin. "I won't tell a soul," he promised.

She cautiously moved to him and laid her head on his chest. A moment later she pulled away, her eyes wide. "You are not from this planet!"

"Nope."

"Are you going to hurt us?" she asked, blinking rapidly.

"Have I done anything to make you think that I would in any way harm either you or your son?"

"Well, no," she conceded. "But that was before we knew you were a...were an..."

"An alien? So suddenly I'm untrustworthy because I happen to come from the Kasterborous constellation?"

Looking somewhat sheepish, she bit at her lip. "Oh... I guess not. But then there are those stories by Vernes and Wells. However, you seem nothing like what they write about... and I've just never met someone before that was so... ummm... foreign."

He responded with a chuckle. "That's one way of putting it. Besides, Herbert was a bit off in his descriptions." Refocusing his attention on the area in which he was standing, he briefly made sure that the other passengers were still uninterested in the activities of the three of them. "Now, if I could only find the source of that ever so lovely odor..."

"Why is the odor so important?"

"Well, it's alien, right? Specifically, it's the scent of a Zygon. I'm guessing the ozone scent could be whatever technology he or she is using. So, we find the source of that smell, we find the alien... well, the other alien... who's aboard this ship," he told Penelope as he walked towards the third-class bunks, following his nose. "And by finding the alien, we can find out what it is that he, she, or it is doing to cause the time shifts a young lady and I encountered in 1963. Well, she encountered it here in 1912 and wound up in 1963." He frowned slightly. "Though I'm not sure that my going around and smelling all the passengers will be considered good etiquette."

"Certainly not!" she said, aghast at the prospect of this man going around and sniffing at ladies and gentlemen. She then realized what he'd said. "You travel in time as well? Like Wells described in _The Time Machine_? Do all you aliens do things like that?

"Not all. It's sort of a limited thing," he replied. "Humans will travel in time eventually, but not for another thirty centuries or so." He looked around at his surroundings, noting that he'd found himself at one end of a long corridor lined with doors. "Well, I think this is where we part company."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

As the Doctor stated his intention to part company, Penelope Winters wasn't sure that she was ready for this farewell. She had just learned that the man was the most remarkable she'd likely ever meet - sans her husband of course. Nobody, not even an alien detective could compare with the man she had promised her life to. Still, something about this Doctor made her care what happened to him. "Will you be all right? Maybe we should alert one of the ship's officers."

"They're going to have enough on their hands in a couple of hours," the Gallifreyan answered. "Trust me. I'm old hand at this sort of thing."

"Well, then we won't keep you." She looked at her son. "Richard, it's getting late. Let's get some supper into you and then Mummy will read you a bedtime story."

The boy smiled up to his mother but then turned to the Time Lord, his eyes wide and kind. "Wouldn't you like supper too?"

The Gallifreyan hesitated, not wanting to disappoint the child. Looking at his wide eyes, he couldn't help but be reminded of the eyes on another young boy, about the same age as Richard. His hearts clenched again as he remembered that he would never again see any of his own children's faces or any other Gallifreyan for that matter. "Hunting aliens..." he started, trying to find a way out of what his hearts were telling him. "I don't really do domestic." Almost as if to negate his words, a rumble came from his abdomen. He frowned as he looked down at the source of the rumble, almost as if chiding it for interrupting him.

"It would be lovely to have you break bread with us," Penelope said. "Who knows when we'll ever have the chance to spend such meal again? We'll be docking tomorrow."

Again, the Time Lord hesitated, knowing the truth - that the Titanic would never reach New York City. However, a scent wasn't much of a lead, especially since it seemed to be dissipating quickly. He glanced down the hallway, thinking about the possibilities. If he went with his instincts, which were to knock on every door in search of the alien, he might wind up in the brig. And that was the one place he didn't want to be approximately six hours into the future.

"Given that my stomach is proclaiming its dissatisfaction... I suppose an hour won't make too much of a difference."

"Good. The food is actually quite wonderful. Not what they're having in first or second class, of course, but better than most here have had."

"I can imagine," he nodded in agreement. "The way I see it, you spent that much money on a ticket, you should at least get some perks to go with it." He followed them towards the dining area.

When the three walked into the dining room, they were greeted warmly. There were three seats at the end of one of the tables that a man pointed out to Penelope.

"You and Richard have a nice time on deck, ya?" he asked her.

"Oh yes, Swen. The sea air was good for Richard and me as well. Besides, if we hadn't been out there, we'd never have met the Doctor."

"You are a doctor? Was someone hurt?" Swen questioned turning to the new arrival.

"Not yet," the Doctor replied. He gave a smile to lighten the words, though he couldn't avoid the sad look that came from his eyes.

Swen looked quite confused. "But why would a gentlemen like you come down to visit us then?

"Why not?"

"Because we're only working class. Most of us don't even know how to read. Miss Penelope, she's read to some of us the last two nights." He looked at her as if he felt she was the most wonderful woman in the world.

"Nothing wrong with being a part of the working class," the Doctor told him. "Some of my best friends are workers. You lot are people just like those on the upper decks. Only difference is you have to work harder for your keep. Personally, I'd rather be here with you than with some stiff-necked socialite who thinks herself better simply because she has money."

Penelope smiled at the Doctor before turning to the Swedish man. "Oh, Swen, I was reading to Richard anyway. If I can entertain others with the books, it seems the right thing to do."

Swen grinned. "Well, look at me jawing away when the three of you are wanting your dinner."

"Dinner would be lovely. Thanks," the Gallifreyan agreed, following Penelope and Richard to a table and sitting with them. All through dinner, he hardly ate, choosing instead to observe the people around him, on the look-out for anyone who might be the Zygon disguised as a human.

"Are you not hungry, Doctor?" Penelope asked, noticing he was barely touching his food.

He blinked for a moment, turning his head towards her. "Sorry. Bit distracted there. Looking for the Zygon. Hard to find him when he looks like the rest of you. He could be anyone."

"I don't know how you'll smell him in here. All I can smell is the stew," she responded.

"I've got a nose for it," he commented. "Right now, I smell stew, bread, your perfume, Richard's soap and the starch in the waiter's uniform."

"My goodness!" she exclaimed. "Do you smell all scents so keenly?"

"'Fraid so. I can single out one if I want, which is what I'm trying to do at the moment. Unfortunately, there's no sign our Zygon friend is anywhere near here." He looked at the stew in front of him and took a bite. "Not bad at all," he commented.

She smiled.

Richard looked up at him. "What will you do when you find the Zygon?"

"Depends on what he's doing. If he's doing what I think he's doing, I'll have to take him off this planet and hand him over to the proper authorities."

"So you're a bobby?" Richard asked. "I thought you were a doctor...or a detective." He looked confused.

"I'm _the_ Doctor," he told him with a grin. "Besides, someone's got to keep the universe in check now that..." he trailed off, a haunted look appearing on his face.

"What is it, Doctor?" Penelope asked, concerned.

He didn't answer for a long moment. "Nothing," he finally said, putting on a smile. "Now that I know what I'm looking for and the scent-search isn't working, I'll have to find the body print booth where he's keeping his imprint host. Should have thought of that in the first place, really. Don't know why I didn't think of it before."

She laughed lightly. "You really are the most remarkable man. You say such bizarre things, sometimes I'm just not sure what you're talking about."

"That goes for the two of us," he told her with a wry grin. "Sometimes I'm not sure what I'm talking about either."

She laughed, a smile on her face and a look in her eyes that said she was happy to be with him.

They finished dinner and several of the diners asked if Penelope would again read to them. She agreed and within a few minutes, there was a group gathered around her. The book she read from was only a few years old and few had heard the tale but all thought _Anne of Green Gables_ to be a nice story. She had been reading the story for several days and the book was nearly through.

The Doctor listened for a moment, smiling at the memory of meeting L.M. Montgomery. As he recalled, he was the one that had suggested that she make Anne's hair red. After all, ginger was the one color he'd never had on his own head. Realizing that he was becoming unnecessarily distracted - he didn't know how this regeneration could get off the path so easily but he hoped it would pass as soon as possible – he refocused on the task he had ahead of him. He was leaning against one of the pillars in the room when he felt a tug on his jacket. "Master Richard," he greeted the child. "What can I do for you?"

The boy looked at him with wide eyes. "What are you thinking about?"

"Thought you were listening to your mum reading the book," the Doctor commented. Getting a glare that only a five-year-old could bestow - and one that was making it difficult for the Time Lord not to chuckle at how adult it looked - he lowered himself to be face-to-face with him. "I was thinking about the Zygon."

"I thought maybe that you would be."

"Clever lad," the Gallifreyan complimented. "I was also trying to think who the Zygon could be designed as. There are literally over a thousand passengers aboard and a very large crew. He could be any one of them. At the same time, that odd clicking you heard in the public room? Well, I heard it a couple of other places on the ship. Which means that the Zygon has to be disguised as someone who could get from stem to stern without raising eyebrows."

Richard tilted his head. "Well, the people who Mummy says runs the Titanic do that."

The Doctor blinked at his words. "I must really be going thick in my old age," he stated mostly to himself. "The crew! He has to be one of the crew!"

The child gave his new friend a smile. "You're not worried anymore?" he asked, hopefully.

"Oh, I'm still worried. But you, Master Richard, have made thing just a bit easier." He gave the boy a broad grin and a pat on the back. "Go on. Finish listening to your mum." Then, without further word, he headed for the crew's quarters, certain that he would find the body print booth and, thus, the poor soul the Zygon was using to disguise himself.

A flash of the psychic paper told anyone who bothered to ask that he was an inspector, thus allowing him an excuse to go through the quarters without permission. The sonic screwdriver was his means to access all the crew's quarters. But despite two hours of searching every available crewman's cabin, there wasn't a body print booth to be seen.

"Bloody hell," he grumbled. He stiffened noticeably when he heard a familiar voice, one he hadn't heard since... well, since he owned said voice.

"Looking for something?" the voice said.

"Nothing," Nine told his younger self, not turning to look at the face. He already knew what he would see: curly hair, big teeth, a floppy hat, and an outrageously long scarf that had been knitted by Madame Nostradamus.

"Well, it certainly looked like you were looking for something. That's one of the interesting things about people. There's a look they get when they're looking for something and so naturally, since you had that look, I had to assume that you were indeed looking for something."

Nine turned his head reflexively to tell Four off but then froze at the sight of himself. A thousand feelings and thoughts ran through his head. If there were a specific point in his life that he'd ever regretted, it was during the incarnation that stood before him. He wanted to yell at him, demand why he allowed the Daleks to continue to live, why he had just delayed their creation when he had the chance to destroy them once and for all. If he had stopped the Daleks then, in his fourth incarnation, there never would have been a Time War. Or so he told himself as one set of blue eyes met the other set.

In a dark voice, Nine, instead of venting his own self-hatred, growled, "Nothing you can help me find."

Ignoring the dark voice, Four answered, "You'd be amazed at what I can find, sir. Indeed, I once found the Lost City of Atlantis. Why don't you tell me what you're looking for and then we can see if indeed I might be of assistance?"

Again, Nine glowered at him. "If I wanted your help, I would ask for it. Now, leave me alone. I don't want your help. I don't need your help," Nine told him harshly. "Go on before I call on the guard and tell them there's a stowaway on board."

"Well!" said Four, rather taken aback. "You're quite the snippy one. Fine. Never let it be said that I foist myself into anyone's personal business. I have other things to attend to anyway." With that he turned away from Nine. He'd gone a short distance when he spotted one of the officers from the ship. He started walking with him. "Ah, Mister Tanners. So good to see you again. Have you had any lucky in tracking down the Captain for me? I would like to speak with him tonight. I know he's been busy during the voyage, but..." Nine didn't hear anymore as the two walked around a corner.

"Can't believe I was ever that verbose or nosy. Can't I take a hint?" the Doctor groused as he walked off in the opposite direction. A moment later, he stopped. "The Captain! Of course! His quarters aren't with the rest of the crew!" He dashed down the hall, hurrying to verify his theory. He felt significant irritation that his former self had, indeed, helped him find what he was looking for. At least, he had the satisfaction of finally understanding that odd conversation from his fourth life.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

It was several minutes before the Gallifreyan found himself outside the Captain's cabin, sonic screwdriver in hand. "Now, a bit of sonicking..." he commented to himself. He frowned when it appeared that his attempts to unlock the door were in vain. "But that's not possible. I've updated the sonic screwdriver. It should open you up like a walnut. Well... more like a door." He bent down to look at the lock more closely. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me! Deadlocked? On the Titanic? Talk about giving yourself away." His attention went to the hinges of the door. "But, one thing I can say about Zygons. Sometimes they aren't especially clever." Raising the screwdriver again, he carefully removed the bolts to the hinges, thus loosening the door. With a couple of strong kicks, the door went tumbling over, allowing the Time Lord to enter the room.

On the far side of the cabin, nestled between the bed and the chest of drawers, was an odd organic pod, a human being standing inside. The human seemed completely oblivious to his surroundings, his eyes closed as if he were in a deep coma. Marching up to the body print booth, the Gallifreyan assessed how to free the captive within it.

It took him a short while to do so and, when he had completed his task, the human blinked his eyes. "Who are you, sir, and what are you doing in my cabin?"

The Time Lord grinned widely at the man. "Hello, Captain Smith! I'm the Doctor. And I've just pulled you out of a very nasty alien pod. But never mind that. You only have a couple of minutes before all hell is going to break loose on the ship."

"What are you talking about, man! I should have you loc..." He suddenly stopped, noticing for the first time the fact that the room did indeed have some kind of... organic mess that hadn't been there before. "What...wha..." he started.

"Oh, don't worry about that. It should disappear any time soon. They don't leave their technology behind," the Doctor told him, grabbing his arm and pulling him out of his quarters.

"Where do you think you're taking me?" the Captain asked although he was somewhat subdued by the confusion he felt about everything. Last thing he remembered, they were about to launch the ship.

"Well, you are the Captain, aren't you? You're going to be needed on the bridge in a few minutes."

"Yes, yes, I know that but what I don't understand is why... how... when..." He stopped, "That is to say, I don't remember setting sail."

"Well, we all forget things every once in a while. Now, off you go. Murdoch is waiting for you and it won't be a few minutes before you hear some news from Fleet." The Doctor closed the door behind them and started down the hallway, now certain where the Zygon must be. Bolting up stairs to get on deck, the Gallifreyan looked quickly around. If he remembered, the last time he was on the Titanic, he had seen the Captain on the starboard side of the ship, looking out into the black, glassy ocean. He never did get that conversation he'd wanted with him, having had to attend other matters. But at least that memory led him to where he needed to be at that moment. He marched for a short while before he saw the familiar visage he was looking for.

"So... what's your real name?" he asked in a knowing voice to the creature that looked like Captain Edward Smith. "You can't fool me, you know. I know you're a Zygon."

"And what might that be?" the creature asked, still hoping to maintain his cover.

The Doctor gave him a pitying look. "You want to play games at a time like this? I've seen your Skarasen. I found your body print booth. And Captain Smith is already on his way to the bridge. So, come out with it. Who are you and what are you doing on this planet? Testing a new sonic weapon? I mean, with all the clicking noises you've been making all over the ship, it has to be some kind of sonic device, a device which just happened to rip open a weak point in time and space back at Southampton port."

The Zygon remained in his place, making adjustments to a device that looked like something between a handheld telescope and a piece of coral from the bottom of the ocean. "I'm almost finished with my testing. The device has worked better than I could have imagined. I've been able to shear off large sections of frozen di-hydrogen oxide from a massive sheet."

The Gallifreyan stared at him in horror. "Wait a minute. You deliberately broke off icebergs from the Artic Icecap? You bloody idiot!"

"We will need this technology to reform the planet that will become our next home. It is strategically placed but there are great sheets of di-hydrogen oxide just as on this planet. It was a good place to test our technology."

"This is a Level Five planet! Weapons testing, any testing of alien technology on this scale, is strictly forbidden by the Shadow Proclamation," the Doctor pressed, practically getting into the face of the disguised alien. "Not to mention that you just caused one of Earth's worst and definitely its most famous peacetime maritime tragedies!"

"It is of no consequence. This planet does not have the capability of extraterrestrial warfare."

"That's not the point! You are directly responsible for the deaths of over fifteen hundred people!" He pointed into the ocean ahead. "And there's your weapon of mass murder, coming right up on us."

Suddenly, the ship bumped slightly three times as it struck a large iceberg in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

"Well. That was an unintentional consequence. Still, it should barely affect the population of the planet."

"It's mass murder and it's a crime," the Doctor told him darkly.

"You aren't even one of these creatures. I don't understand why you're so concerned."

"Because they are living sentient beings, just like us. Surrender yourself and your technology and I will take you to the Shadow Proclamation for a fair trial."

"Not likely."

"Then you leave me with no choice," the Time Lord warned, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his sonic screwdriver.

As the Gallifreyan pulled out his device, a group of people that walked between the two. A well dressed man was obviously leading the group. "See. I told you. An iceberg. It's almost close enough to touch." None of the people seemed worried but there was a sense of excitement instead.

The Zygon, seeing his opportunity rushed away from the site of the collision, heading into the interior of the ship.

"Ah, Captain. Perhaps..." started one of the passengers. When the being he thought was the Captain didn't answer, he groused, "Well. That was rather rude!"

"I'll just go tell him off for you," the Doctor told the passenger, quickly moving through them to try to reach the Zygon before he disappeared out of sight. He saw a flash of blue go around a corner and hurried to follow.

The chase blazed through the ship, the Zygon only just within sight as the two went further and further back into the ship. The Doctor could already feel the hull starting to slowly fill with water, could feel the ship's gradual decline into the ocean. He knew the passengers needed to all evacuate now. But he also knew that very few of them would really listen until the waters started to bring the ship down rapidly. They finally reached the deck where the Doctor had met Richard and his mother.

The Zygon was heading towards the stern of the ship. He needed to get to his Skarasen and get off of this planet. Now that he knew his sonic disruptor would work, he needed to let his superiors know.

"Going somewhere?" the Doctor questioned, having finally caught up with the illusive alien. "Got your spaceship hidden just off the stern of the ship, I'd say."

"You again," the Zygon said with disgust. "There isn't anything that can be done for these creatures. I'm going back to my ship. This..." he said nodding to his weapon, "...is all that matters."

"Typical Zygon. All you can ever think of is conquest," the Time Lord commented with a shake of his head. "I can't let you leave without facing the consequences of your actions." He continued to aim the sonic screwdriver at the machine in the Zygon's hands. "Surrender now or I'll destroy your sonic disruptor."

"No. This is too valuable for our cause." He turned on the machine and aimed it at the Time Lord.

As the machine hummed to life, the Doctor used his sonic to disable the weapon.

The Zygon shook with anger. "No. You can't." As the machine's engine began to cycle down, he turned it to high gear. The overload was more than the engine could take and the equipment began to smoke.

"Throw it overboard!" the Gallifreyan cried.

The Zygon shook his head. "Never!" Instead he tried to reset the equipment, but it was too late. In a flash of light, the machine exploded, killing the Zygon instantly.

At the moment of the Zygon's death, the host imprint was broken, leaving only the blatantly alien body on the deck of the ship. The Doctor walked up to the creature's still form, sadness in his eyes for the loss of life. "I'm sorry," he murmured. A second later, the Zygon's body disappeared, being transported back to his ship as was Zygon custom. The Doctor adjusted his sonic screwdriver and, with a buzz towards the tethered ship, released the vessel from its hold on the Titanic, allowing it to sink into the depths below. Turning his head to look out onto the glassy surface of the ocean, he noted the large lump moving through the waters.

"I'm sorry your master is dead," he told the Skarasen. Then, with a heavy heart, he pointed his sonic screwdriver towards the creature, sending a pulse into its cybernetic implants. He spent the next hour insuring that the Zygon's presence would never be found on the Earth, going so far as to order the Skarasen to destroy both the ship and itself. When he had completed his task, he put his sonic away, having solved the mystery of Eveleen Daniels' journey into the future.

As the Doctor moved through the ship, needing to assure that no future person would learn that the Zygon had caused the accident, he received a telepathic message from the TARDIS. She was telling him that the cargo hold where she resided was filling with very cold water and she wanted him to come immediately to leave the ship. The Doctor froze in his steps as he felt the TARDIS' plea to him. Their ability to communicate with each other was more based on emotion than actual thought. Nevertheless, her concern for his well-being, as well as his ability to reach her, was plainly obvious.

_Go to the Third Class Room_, he instructed her. _I'm almost there now._


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

As he passed through the third class section of the ship, he heard the sound of running footsteps heading his way and a recognizable feminine voice calling out to him.

"Penelope, I suggest you get everyone you can and get into a lifeboat," he told her, not stopping in his own journey to safety.

"We've been told we need to wait, Doctor. First Class first, then Second, and last us. From what the officer said, it's standard procedure to assure a well-organized evacuation."

Her words made him stop and turn to look at her, sadness in his eyes. His gaze shifted to the young boy, who held onto his mother's hand with such faith in her ability to protect him. "You have one hour before this ship goes down with whomever is left onboard freezing in that ocean out there. I don't want you and your son to be part of those people."

Penelope blinked and swallowed tightly. "One... one hour?" She pulled Richard to her. "Is there something you can do, Doctor?"

The Time Lord warred with himself. He wanted to save everyone on the Titanic but he also knew that it was a fixed point in the Earth's history. Never mind that it might not have happened if it hadn't been for the Zygon - he never did get the poor creature's name - and his terraforming weapon. Over a thousand people were going to die within the next few hours and he couldn't change that.

"What makes you think that I could do anything?" he questioned her.

"You're an amazing being," she started. "If you know the future and yet came on the ship, you must know something that can be done."

"The Titanic has to sink, Penelope," he said quietly. "I can't change history, especially not something like this. It's a fixed point in time. If this tragedy doesn't happen, it could seriously and adversely affect Earth's future. Only seven hundred people are going to survive and there is nothing I can do to change that."

A tear started to form in Penelope's eye. "Only seven hundred? What about Richard? He's only a child..."

"I know," the Doctor interrupted, raising his voice slightly. He wiped his face, thinking hard on the dilemma before him. He'd already bent the rules by keeping the Daniels from coming aboard in the first place. But could he bend the rules again without causing serious harm to space-time? He suddenly felt the weight of being the only one of his kind in the universe, knowing that if he made a single error, the Time Lords were no longer around to fix the problem. But fifteen hundred people dead... There was one possibility available to him that he could think of. He just wasn't sure how it would go over with her or anyone else. "You have to understand something. If I do help you, you can't ever go home. You will never see Earth again," he warned.

"Never see Earth again?" Penelope said, shocked. She then looked at Richard. "He'll live, though?"

The Doctor didn't respond to her question, letting his eyes do the speaking for him. "What will it be, Penelope?"

Tears continued to fall which she tried to wipe away. "What do I need to do? Where do I need to go?"

"Go get whatever belongings you have and go down to the Third Class Room. There's a blue police box down there... a shed of sorts. I will be waiting for you. Try to convince as many people as you can to come with you. Remember that you only have one hour... until 2am. If you aren't there by then, I will have to leave you behind."

The woman looked at him strangely. "There is no blue shed in the room."

He gave her a slight smile. "There is now. At least, I hope that's where she is. She's a bit temperamental, sometimes doesn't materialize where she's supposed to."

Although surprised by his answer, the woman nodded and whispered, "Like H.G. Wells' Time Machine." Then, her voice strong, she added, "Whatever you say, Doctor." In the short time since meeting this being, she'd found that she trusted what he said. She couldn't explain why but, at this moment, she knew in her heart that this was her son's one chance to escape a cold and watery grave. "I will try, Doctor, to bring as many people as I can."

"One hour," he reminded her. "Don't be late." With that, he marched off towards the Third Class Room.

Finding the TARDIS waiting for him there, if a bit wet, he grinned broadly and unlocked the door to step in. "Slight change of plans," he told her aloud. "We're taking on passengers." A shift in the hum of the control room indicated that the ship had some concerns about his intentions. "I know what I'm doing!" the Doctor retaliated. "I'm fully aware of the possible impact on Earth's history. Which is why our passengers are not going to stay on Earth." He fiddled with the control console, moving around it with intense interest. He'd noticed that, during the last few days, the time ship had made significant repairs to herself, even to the point of completely renovating the console room to default settings. That being the case, he decided to change the "desktop theme" of the craft at the same time as he made his new sonic screwdriver. In changing the theme of the console room, he'd also discovered that the ship needed even more repairs than he could do with the resources available to him. He made a pact with himself that, once the passengers of the Titanic were in the TARDIS, he would take them somewhere safe and then settle for at least a week to finish repairs. He was working diligently under the console when he paused to glance at his watch and noted the time as being 1:58 am exactly. Getting to his feet, he immediately opened the main door and looked out. A large band of people stood outside, looking uncertain and frightened.

One of the men was speaking to Penelope. "You expect us to believe we'll all fit in that shed? We'd be better off to take it apart and try to float on the sides."

Penelope, for her part, looked as confused as the man was disbelieving. "All I know is that the Doctor promised to get us all away from here and I believe him." Hearing a creak behind her, she turned to see the man in question stepping from the blue box.

The Doctor looked at the group for a long moment, suddenly realizing the full extent of what he had agreed upon. With just a glance, he calculated how many people stood in the Third Class Room, waiting for him to save them. Fifteen women, twelve men and thirty-nine children, all of them holding onto the supports in the room to keep their balance as the Titanic continued its descent into the depths of the Atlantic.

"You will never see Earth again," he announced at the top of his voice, silencing the murmurs that filled the room. "This is where you decide for certain if you are going to stay here or leave everything you've ever known. If you stay, I can't help you. If you come with me, your lives will change forever. Your choice." He opened the TARDIS door so that they could see the extensive interior. "Well, come on. No time to lose. Through the doors on the other side of the room and don't touch anything!"

The man that had been speaking looked inside the box. "That's impossible," he breathed. There was a new fear on his face.

His wife beside him, a baby in her arms and three other children clinging to her skirts, spoke up. "We have no choice, John. Think of the children. It's our only hope."

Another woman nodded. "Whatever it means, it has to be better than drowning in the ocean."

Penelope took Richard's hand and marched into the blue box. The rest of the people followed her, deciding that it was true this was their only hope.

"Come on, come on! Hurry it up!" the Doctor beckoned, noting that the angle of the ship was becoming steeper. He quickly helped the passengers into the TARDIS, reaching out his hands to pull them into the time ship. All were stunned to find themselves suddenly standing upright but, fortunately for the Doctor, Penelope kept them moving through the auxiliary door on the far side. Only when the very last couple was through did the Doctor close the door, only moments before the time ship was rocking back and forth.

Most of the children in the room were crying and several of the mothers were as well. The men, though fearful, were keeping a stiff upper lip. Penelope tried to calm them. "We'll be all right. The Doctor has promised that we'll be safe and our children will live. Isn't that what we all want?"

"Just a bit of turbulence," the Doctor assured as he hurried to the console, glancing briefly through the still open auxiliary door. He flicked several switches and turned knobs, causing the rotor in the middle of the console to move up and down with a grating noise. "Should be at your new home in... oh... five minutes or so." Taking a breath, he walked through the door and looked upon his passengers. "Is everyone all right?"

Penelope turned to the Doctor. "Five minutes? How can that be?"

The Time Lord looked at her with a frown. "Penelope, you are in a vessel that looks like a police telephone box from an era you haven't even seen yet and it's bigger on the inside. I would think by now that you'd understand that the laws of physics as you know them do not apply to my ship."

Penelope blinked. "Well, Doctor, this is a first for me. I mean, I have read about such things and I'm willing to accept miracles but time is time."

"And it's all a matter of how you perceive it. Where do you think H. G Wells got his ideas?"

"I've always thought that it was likely written after visits to the local pub."

He just shook his head at her words, clearly amazed at her suppositions. "I'll be back in a mo. This outfit is starting to get on my nerves," he complained.

For the next few minutes, while the Doctor donned a pair of black jeans, a cranberry jumper, a battered leather jacket, and a pair of black leather work shoes, the group was basically quiet, waiting for the other shoe to drop. None could have conceived of such a trip and one or two wondered if perhaps this was a hallucination brought about by drowning. However, when there was a definite thud, they looked to the man that had potentially saved them all.

"Here we go!" the Time Lord exclaimed at the sound. "Just need to do some verifying..." He walked back into the console room, several people daring to follow him as he checked readings on the console. "Fantastic! Exactly as planned! The planet Ozeria in the Mazerine System, the year 6372. Also know as New Great Britain."

"I thought you said we'd never go home again," asked one little boy.

"And you won't," the Gallifreyan confirmed. He pointed to the main door. "Out there, brand new world."

Another boy, one of the older ones at about thirteen years of age moved forward to open the door. His mother had tried to pull him back but he kept going. As he opened it, he exclaimed, "Blimey! It's Frank Baum's fantasy world!" The others moved forward at those words spilling out onto a poppy covered field. A green, almost crystalline city with spires rose in the distance.

"It looks like the Emerald City!" exclaimed Richard. "Mummy, look. We're in Oz!"

The Doctor followed with the thrall, leaning on the TARDIS as he watched the people leave, counting heads while still enjoying the expression on their faces. "I admit it isn't as bright and colorful as the film made it out to be but still... nice place for a new start, I'd say."

Penelope looked at him strangely. "Color film? I've never heard of such a thing!"

"Oh, not just in color but with sound also," the Doctor emphasized. "And this being the sixty-fourth century, entertainment is now holographic representations so realistic that you could swear they were standing in the same room with you."

Penelope blinked. "Sixty-fourth century?" She suddenly grew pale. "And I know this trip to Oz doesn't come with silver slippers."

"Nope. Not unless you buy them yourself in one of the shops. But you can't click your heels and say 'there's no place like home'." The Doctor paused with a slight frown. "Well, you could but you'd just look silly."

Penelope looked at Richard. "At least he'll be able to grow up and live." She licked her lips slightly. "Will we be able to find work here? Will they accept us?"

He gave her a gentle look, a rarity on his hardened warrior-like face. "Oh, they'll absolutely adore you. All of you. The humans here are very open, very accepting people. And you, Penelope, are the perfect person to act as liaison for your people to find work, shelter, benefits... all the things that you will need to have a happy life here."

She smiled at him. "I guess we should begin walking to the city then...unless we could get a ride on that wonderful box of yours."

He cringed slightly. "She's been through a lot lately and she sometimes isn't very reliable with short distances. Besides, she needs a bit of a rest. More work to be done to get her into shape. Nothing to fear, though. Ozeria is a very human friendly. It's a bit of a walk, yeah. But you won't run into anything dangerous on the way."

"Then we'll walk." She put out her hand and took his shoulder. "And thank you. We all surely would have died if you hadn't brought us here. I shudder to think of all those souls who didn't come with us. I wish I could have brought more but most didn't believe me." She looked ruefully at the others. "I don't think that any of these people really believed either but they came because it was better to hope."

"Have a fantastic life, Penelope," the Doctor told her. "Take care of your people. They're going to need you as their leader now. And take care of your son."

"I will. I promise you, your gift will always be treated with reverence. Thank you."

"As long as it's the gift and not me. I'm not into hero worship," he told her with a grin.

Richard, realizing that they were leaving now, threw his arms around the Time Lord's legs. "Goodbye, nice Doctor."

He laughed slightly at Richard's actions, pulling him away so that he could squat down to meet him eye to eye. "You take care of your mum, Richard. She's fantastic, you know."

"I know," the little boy said proudly. "I'll do my best. Mummy says I'm the man of the house since my father died." He stood up straighter showing he would do what he should.

"Yes, you are. And a fine young man you are at that." The Gallifreyan stood and gave them both a nod, noting that the last of his passengers had finally left the TARDIS. "Well, best be off then."

Penelope nodded. She turned to the group and let them know that they were about to be on their own. The people thanked the Doctor and then, en masse, started moving towards the city that would be their new home.

Doctor watched for a moment as the group headed towards their new lives. Then, with a deep breath, he stepped back into the TARDIS and closed the door. He could feel the TARDIS' pleasure in his mind.

"It was a nice thing, wasn't it," he commented as he looked around the console room. "I really shouldn't have done that, though. It could cause serious ripples in space-time." However, he knew that the likelihood of damage to the universe was very low, given that the people he saved were considered dead, their bodies forever buried at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

As the TARDIS disappeared from the surface of Ozeria, the Doctor had a dilemma. Where should he go? What should he do? As the last Time Lord in the entire universe, it took some of the joy out of the prospect. Before the Time War, he had made his peace with his people, even though there was always a bit of a finger to the nose as he gallivanted across space and time. Knowing they were at least occasionally watching had made the last 1000 years interesting. Now, though, he was alone. And by his own hand no less. It didn't make the prospect of the future or past very tempting. "So where should I go?" he asked out loud, not really expecting an answer but just wanting to end the silence.

A chirp came from the console, drawing his attention to the viewscreen.

"Hello... what's this?" He analyzed the data quickly. "Faster than light and a swarm to boot? That doesn't bode well for their destination. Anyone trying that hard to get somewhere probably isn't up to visiting for tea and sandwiches."

He continued to sort through the data stream. "No. Not Earth again. That planet doesn't seem to get any breaks. Of course, being in the middle of an intergalactic trade route probably doesn't help it much. Well, then. That settles it." He made a few adjustments to the console. "Back to Earth," he voiced although he knew the TARDIS could... and would... pick up his brainwaves. With a flick of a switch, the TARDIS jolted into the time vortex... and then stopped.

"No! No no no no no!" He kicked the console with his foot. "What do you think you're doing, getting us stuck in the middle of the vortex at a time like this?"

The lights went down, leaving the Doctor in the dark.

"Now, don't start. I know you can be a temperamental old thing but I'm seriously not in the mood to put up with one of your tantrums," he berated the darkness. Despite his statement, the lights continued to stay off. The Doctor pulled out his new sonic screwdriver and lit up the room with the blue light. Although there were shadows to the edges, he could see the console clearly.

During a walk around the console, he couldn't see any reason for the TARDIS to have suddenly gone dark. Obviously, the time ship was being more stubborn than ever. He sighed. "All right. I'm sorry. But don't expect me not to use percussive persuasion in the future. You do get stuck sometimes and I can't go readjusting you every time you are incapable of cooperating." He took a breath. "Besides, we're all we've got now, you and me. Just us. Are you really going to stay angry simply because I lost my temper?"

There was a light hum as if the ancient semi-living ship was considering the concept. Then, just as suddenly the lights came back up. However, it also remained stuck in the Vortex.

The Doctor grinned broadly as the room became bright once more. The grin, however, faded immediately as he saw that the ship hadn't moved an inch. "So, why are we stuck in the Time Vortex?" he questioned. A console door popped open. The Time Lord crouched down and looked through the open hatch. "What a mess. I thought I fixed that," he grumbled. "This is going to take a couple of days, you know. That swarm of objects is going to be long gone by the time we're done here."

There was yet another chirp. Looking at the screen, the Doctor saw that the TARDIS had extrapolated the vector and timeline. The course had clearly pointed to Earth, sometime in the year 2005, Humanian Era. London specifically, not that the city surprised him. If Earth got its share of shit, London seemed more often than not the bull's-eye.

"I should have known. My favorite planet and my favorite species. Typical," he grumbled. "Just keep an eye on that swarm while I see what I can do about this bioelectrical disaster." He lifted the grated floor and put it to the side to allow him better access to the console. "Knew it was a good idea," he told himself as he admired the floor for a moment before tucking himself into the crawlspace underneath, sonic screwdriver in hand and a tool set just under the grating to his left.

Fixing the TARDIS took a little longer than what he'd expected, but two days later they were on their way again. Dropping into a side alley downtown, he went out and looked around. "Downtown London," he commented before pocketing his key and leaving the TARDIS to seek whatever he'd seen earlier that week.

He'd been walking for a good half hour around about the area. With a sigh, he said aloud with exasperation, "Why is it when you're looking for an extraordinary thing that all you find is the ordinary?"

"You might want to look here, then, mate," a male voice stated from his left. "This shop's got some nice bangles. Certainly not like that cheap stuff in the department stores. I don't know what the world's coming to, all the plastic and cheap knock offs."

The Doctor blinked for a moment. "I wasn't exactly talking about merchandise. More of activity. Anything unusual happen in the last few days? Odd sightings in the sky?"

"Where have you been then?" the man questioned with a frown.

"Holiday," the Doctor replied as if that were the only answer to give. "Spent a lot of time in South America out of the loop."

The man huffed slightly. "Didn't miss much then. There was a swarm of meteorites a few months back. It was the talk of Great Britain for while. There were reports of them from Hadrian's Wall all the way to Land's End. Several of them came down in Cardiff where I live. I saw one of them." He chuckled. "Gwen got called out about some of the sightings. She's my girlfriend. Someone claiming we were being invaded or some such nonsense."

"A few months ago?" The Time Lord exclaimed, not paying attention to the man's comments about his girlfriend. "I must have got the flight wrong. I should have materialized shortly after they crashed, not months later." He turned to the man. "You say you saw them. What did they look like?"

"Well, that's the strange thing. Most of the real meteorites must have burned up 'cause nobody found anything like a meteorite. But someone decided to play a joke. You know, like those crop circles that are always popping up. Only this time, they made broken plastic balls and dropped them around. Bunch of rubbish if you ask me. People with too much time on their hands."

"Broken plastic balls? You didn't happen to see one of these balls intact, did you?" He glanced into the shop, feeling as if something were off. "Hold on... What was your name again?"

"No. The ball we found was broken just like the ones elsewhere," he answered. "Oh," the man put out his hand. "Rhys Williams. My company's having a meeting of all the satellite offices and my boss sent me to represent Cardiff. Harwood's Haulage is a big organization, you know. I'm just doing some shopping for my girl." He nodded to a green bracelet in the window. "I'm thinking that one would be nice."

"It's lovely," the Doctor commented, not really looking at the bracelet. "Did you notice anything odd about this shop, Rhys Williams?"

"Odd? Not really. Only that it has some things that Gwen would like." He finally made up his mind. "I'm going to get it for her. Her birthday is next week." He nodded to the Doctor to bid his farewell and walked into the shop, and rang the bell on at the counter. When no one came, he repeated the action.

"Nothing at all?" the Doctor questioned, ignoring the farewell and following the best lead he'd had that day into the shop. When after the second ring no one came to the counter, he said, "I'd say a shop without a keeper is very odd."

"Yeah, it is, isn't it. Leaving a place like this with all the fine antiques and no security." He tilted his head. "Maybe they've fallen in the back or something."

The Doctor wasn't even listening to Rhys as he moved around the counter, stepping through the black curtain that separated the front from the back. He stopped abruptly when he noticed a most unusual sight: a body lying on the floor, surrounded with shop dummies. "Okay... having a bit of deja vu at the moment," he murmured to himself.

Rhys followed him into the back, his eyes widening at the sight. "Oh, my god!" From the position of the body it was obvious the woman lying there was dead. "We should get the police."

The Doctor reached quickly into his leather jacket, producing a brown leather billfold and opening it so that Rhys could see it. "Detective John Smith, Scotland Yard," he told him. "I suggest, Mr. Williams, that you get the bracelet you wanted for your girlfriend and get out. Don't tell anyone what you've seen here. We already have suspects and we don't want them to get wind that we're onto them."

Rhys blinked a few times. "Scotland Yard. Yes, of course. Gwen's dealt with you blokes a few times in the past." He went out into the store and found the bracelet in question. Noting the price tag attached, he took out his wallet and pulled out the amount requested. He then walked back to the person he now knew as Detective John Smith. "Sir, will you see that this gets in the till? I'm not a thief."

"I didn't think that you were," the Doctor told him. He slowly turned towards him and looked at the money in Rhys' hands. "Don't worry. I'll explain everything. Just go."

Nodding, Rhys placed the money on the desk as asked, finishing their short acquaintance with a, "Right. I can't say it's been the best way to meet someone but you're all right, Detective Smith. Hope you find the person who did this." He then turned and walked out the door and back onto the streets of London.

The Doctor didn't acknowledge Rhys Williams' words, instead looking cautiously at the mannequins in the room. Raising his sonic screwdriver, he quickly moved through the settings to find the right one. Going to each mannequin, he first made sure that none of them were armed - he didn't think they were, based on the fact that the shopkeeper had been strangled - and then, using the sonic, removed one of the arms.

"Rudimentary control," the Doctor commented to himself as he examined the plastic arm in his hand. "Good sonic blast should disrupt the signal." Moving around the dummies, he made sure that each of them received his sonic's treatment, including the removed arm, before tossing the arm to the side and going out the back door, deliberately setting off the burglar alarm as he did so. He knew that soon, the real police would come to investigate and would find the poor woman in the back room and no signs of anything having been stolen.

Now knowing what his quarry was, the Time Lord marched back to the TARDIS. "Just have to isolate that frequency and find the transmitter. Can't have the Nestene Consciousness try to take over the Earth for a third time."

Isolating the signal didn't take long. The transmission was coming from the roof of a department store. Moving the TARDIS less than a block from his target, he updated himself on the layout of the store before grabbing a small explosive and headed out, barely noting the sun was just starting to set. No one seemed to notice him as he moved through the store and found the staircase. Taking two steps at a time, he went up to the roof, following the signal that his sonic was reading. There, on the rooftop, he found the transmitter in question and took great pains to ensure that an explosive was attached to the alien device. The explosion, he knew, would burn the whole building down which meant that he had to detonate the bomb after everyone had left the building, which would be after closing time.

He knew from his research that the department store's company policy required their security officer to assure in rounds that everyone was out of the building... except maintenance. Seeing a man dressed in the proper uniform was already starting the closing procedures, he realized he'd need to go to the basement and make sure the maintenance man was out of the building as well before he used his remote to set off the explosion. He got on service elevator and took it to the bottom level of the store. Looking carefully around as he stepped out, he frowned slightly at the lack of activity.

"You'd think the bloke would be about somewhere," he muttered as he walked around. He noticed a door ajar and went over to it, his curiosity getting the best of him. What he found made his hearts ache.

The man looked as if he were in his mid-forties or early fifties. His overalls and calloused fingertips told him he'd found the person he'd come down to save.

"I'm sorry," he told the deceased human whose foot had been keeping the door open. He carefully tucked the dead man into the room and then waited. He seriously doubted that anyone would come into the basement at this late an hour, something he was most grateful for. He'd already seen two deaths because of the Autons and their masters. He didn't want to see anymore and the only way to insure that was to wait until the security guard had emptied the upper floors completely... and to make sure that the guard didn't decide to visit the security office one last time before leaving himself. Neither did he want to become a premature casualty by coming face-to-face with the Autons. They may not be living creatures, being only shop dummies under the control of the Nestene Consciousness. But they did outnumber him and he really didn't like the odds. Better to wait until the store was empty and finish the job before hunting down the Consciousness.

As he hid in the shadows of that basement, he found himself, for the first time since before the war, totally still. He knew it must be such to keep the Autons at bay, but it was disconcerting. Nothing but silence filled his being, not even echoes he knew in his hearts should be there. Once again, the realization that he was alone in the universe nearly overwhelmed him. This time, however, it brought on a determination he hadn't felt the last time. No longer did he want to commit suicide and he knew his change of hearts had everything to do with the TARDIS sending him where he was most needed to help people, to make a difference in the universe as he had before the War. If he died doing so, so be it. But at least, as the Last of the Time Lords, he could spread the legacy of his people through the cosmos.

As he sat crouched in the silence, his mind exploded with pain, suddenly feeling as if he'd been hit by a steel beam. With the pain came another sensation, one that, given the circumstances, was completely impossible.

"Another Time Lord?" he questioned himself, knowing full well it couldn't be. "No. They're gone. All gone." Melancholy wrapped about him as he felt the unfeasible brush of recognition in his mind. '_I must want it so badly that my mind created it. Like feeling a limb after it's been amputated. Not that that has ever happened to me before. I'll just have to accept that I'm alone_,' he thought to himself firmly. He may not like it, but it was his reality.

Almost as if to confirm his thoughts, the sensation vanished as if it had never been there. Shaking his head slightly to clear his mind of the remnants of the painful impression, he exhaled slowly. He had no idea where the pain and the odd feeling that he might not be alone had come from but he immediately put it down to his own depressed state of mind. Pulling himself together, he was about to emerge from his hiding place when he heard the familiar ping of the elevator's arrival. Quietly peeking through a crack in the door, he noticed a blonde teenage girl stepping out of the elevator. She looked both ways once she exited, as if looking for someone.

"Wilson?" she called out. She walked away from the Doctor's location, continuing to call for the person she sought. "Wilson, I got the lottery money. Wilson." She went up to a blue door and knocked on it. It was obvious that she expected an answer. "You there?" She tried the door, finding it locked. She paused a moment, talking at the door. "I can't hang about 'cause they're closing the shop. Wilson," she called one more time, more insistently. She turned towards the Doctor's position, seeming concerned about not receiving an answer, when a rattling sound came from behind her, causing her to turn towards it.

The Doctor's own concern mounted at the sound. Of all the stupid things to happen, it would be some pink and yellow girl coming down into a basement full of Autons. He already knew, without any doubts in his mind, that the girl was the only human being in the building. At least, the only one who was alive. He needed to get her out of the building quickly, preferably without her getting herself killed first.

Slipping out of his hiding place, he weaved through the maze that was the basement, finding his own way towards the sound in the hopes that he could beat the girl to it and prevent her from coming to harm. He'd just found the proper room, following the signal on his sonic screwdriver when he heard the girl's frightened voice just behind a set of double-doors. Quickly moving into the room, he saw the shop dummies raising their arms to attack the girl. Without even a second of hesitation, he grabbed her hand, causing her to quickly turn her head towards him.

"Run!" he ordered Rose Tyler, Hendrick's department store employee.

And they never stopped running.

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_Well, there you go! The next story in the series is the start of the epic we've titled "Diverging Timelines". Keep an eye out for Book One. And please don't forget to review!_


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